“This album seems like ‘once in a lifetime’ ago,” he said with a sweet laugh. “I am generally a sideman, arranger or producer for other folks. My records are made in the cracks of time of those other schedules. I was able to finish this album because of the pandemic.”
While his favorite song on the album changes each time, he praised the title cut “Once in a Lifetime,” which he co-wrote with Drake White and “Alive and In Between,” which is a short story song on Mississippi. “Drake is such a great singer and a great guy. We had fun doing that one together,” he admitted.
In this collection, he co-wrote “Changing Channels” with Jimmy Buffett. “We wrote that song a long time ago,” he recalled. “A lot of Jimmy Buffett’s fans that come the shows keep asking us after the show each song has ‘Changing Channels’ on there, and I keep telling them that I never recorded that song but they told me that I have to, so I did.”
On being an artist in the digital age, he said, “I think it’s great actually. I got a record deal at the tail end of the disco era in the ’70s. There are so many ways to access music now.”
He is an inductee of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and 10-time winner of the “Musician of the Year” Award by the Country Music Association (CMA). “That feels a bit undeserving. There is no way I deserve all that,” he said. “There is nobody more grateful than me. I want to be a better guitar player and I keep practicing, and I want to be a better songwriting so I keep working at that. These awards are truly an honor.”
Regarding the title of the current chapter of his life, “The Bonus Round.” “I am a particularly grateful guy,” he said.
He acknowledged that in the duets department he is fulfilled since he has had the privilege to do duets with such greats as Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Jimmy Buffett, George Strait and Ray Charles, among many others. “I would be the last guy to ever complain. I am very happy where I am,” he said.
McAnally defined the word success as an “opportunity to keep going.” “It has always been that way. I grew up in a small little town in Mississippi and they wanted me to be a musician. The idea of trying to make a living in the music business was so hypothetical at a tiny town in Mississippi that I would have never dreamed that big. So many things beyond my dreams have happened since then,” he said.
Once In a Lifetime is available on all digital service providers by clicking here. “This album is a true representation of me. I am happy with how I go about my life,” he said.
To learn more about Mac McAnally, check out his Facebook page and his official website.
